


Diamonds in the Rain

by Alaena_F_Dragonstar



Series: The Magician and the Oracle [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Christmas, Established Relationship, Friendship, M/M, Mystery, Romance, Vacation, ghost story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:09:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alaena_F_Dragonstar/pseuds/Alaena_F_Dragonstar
Summary: Kaito and Shinichi's first winter vacation was going to be one to remember. And not just because of the ghost. It began with an unexpected invitation from Suzuki Sonoko. KaiShin
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Series: The Magician and the Oracle [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903357
Comments: 2
Kudos: 84





	1. First Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Though this story can stand alone, it may still help to read the prequel first.
> 
> The complete story is already up on FF.Net [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9840352/1/Diamonds-in-the-Rain).

Blue eyes opened, for once clear of sleep despite the early hour. It was a tingling at the edge of his senses. It filled him with a sense of anticipation, though for what he wasn't entirely sure yet. Shinichi shifted, turning his head in an attempt to find the window. His sudden movement, however, caused the arms wrapped around him to tighten as their owner shifted his weight until he had Shinichi pinned securely under him.

Shinichi considered his options. In order to check outside, he would have to wake Kaito. Even if he could somehow manage to get out of bed without doing so, he knew the magician would wake up the moment he was gone. They had, however, had a rather late night studying for the final exams they would be taking later that very day. Deciding whatever was niggling at the edges of his consciousness could wait—it didn't feel urgent—the oracle closed his eyes and went back to sleep, too warm and content in the magician's protective embrace to want to leave.

The next time he woke it was to the feeling of fingers running through his hair.

"Don't go back to sleep," the magician said suddenly, apparently having noticed his moment of wakefulness. "We have to get up."

Shinichi kept his eyes closed for a moment longer before letting out a resigned sigh. "It's too cold to get up."

"You were the one who vowed to get full scores on all your exams," the magician reminded him, chuckling. "Can't do that if we're late."

"I guess you're right…" Sighing again, Shinichi pried open his eyes and blinked slowly. The light in the room was clear and pale and the chill in the air more prominent now that he was paying attention. It tugged at something in the back of his mind—a feeling and a memory.

Kaito, who had made his way to the closet, turned around in surprise when he heard a thump to see that Shinichi had half jumped half fallen out of bed. The oracle was already scrambling to his feet however, and in moments he was at the window, face looking almost stricken.

"Shinichi? Is something wrong?"

Blue eyes turned to meet his worried indigo ones, but rather than the fear at some new vision he half expected to see the oracle's face was full of wonder. "You have to come see this."

The magician padded over to stand behind him, slipping his arms around the oracle before turning his gaze outside.

White. Endless stretches of white as far as the eye could see. It blanketed the ground and coated rooftops, dripping like icing from the trees outside. It gleamed almost blinding in its flawlessness.

"Snow," he breathed in wonder.

"It started before dawn," Shinichi explained, voice hushed as though in reverence.

They just stood there for the next few minutes, silently taking in the beautiful sight. The sound of Chikage calling them down to breakfast however dragged them back to the present.

"We're coming!" Kaito called back before moving quickly to change into day clothes. He had just finished when he noticed that Shinichi was still in front of the window, his hands and face pressed against the glass as he stared out with rapt attention. Shaking his head in fond amusement, he stepped back to the oracle's side and tapped on his shoulder. "Come on Shin-chan. Once we finish breakfast, we'll be able to go outside."

That got a reaction. Seeing Shinichi so excited brought a genuine smile to his lips. He might not find the snow quite as novel as Shinichi did, probably because he'd seen it a few times over the past years on the occasional assignment, but the light in the oracle's blue eyes and that smile were a greater wonder to him than anything else would ever be.

X

"Finally!" Hattori Heiji whooped as the last bell signaling the end of the school day rang out across campus. "Winter vacation, here I come!"

"Must you always be so loud?" the blond teen walking a few steps behind him asked with an irritated look.

"Don't talk to me right now Hakuba," the dark-skinned boy retorted. "I'm in a good mood right now and I'd like to stay that way."

"By creating excess noise and tormenting other people's eardrums. How very thoughtful of you."

"Nope, not listening. Can't hear a word."

"Are they ever going to grow up?" Suzuki Sonoko sniffed as she hooked her arms through those of the two girls walking with her and dragged them past the bickering duo.

The taller of her companions laughed. "That's just the kind of friends they are. If anything, I think it would be kind of weird if they ever stopped."

"Ran has a point," the last girl mused, casting a glance back at the boys in question then shaking her head. "The day they stop sniping at each other, we'll probably have to drag them to the hospital. I'd bet anything they'd be running high fevers."

As if on cue, Heiji's voice rose in an indignant, "You take that back!"

Three pairs of eyes rolled.

"Speaking of odd behaviors," Sonoko said, gaze turning to the teen walking a little ways ahead of them. "What's up with Shinichi? He's been acting weird all day—more so than usual anyway."

"He just hasn't seen snow in a long time," a new voice answered, making all three of the girls jump.

"Kaito!" Ran exclaimed in surprise, turning to see the wild-haired magician walking beside them. None of them had heard him approach. He flashed them a cheerful grin before turning his attention to Shinichi. For a moment the look in his indigo eyes flickered, turning soft and maybe a little sad, but then the look was gone, leaving Ran to wonder if it had ever been there at all.

Except that she knew a little about the kinds of shadows that lurked in the past for the magician and his oracle. Thinking about it always made her feel…like she knew so little. Like she was small and ignorant and the world much bigger and stranger than she would ever know.

Something cold and wet touching her nose broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see snowflakes spiraling gently from the sky. She reached up automatically to pull the hood of her coat over her head. Snow was pretty and all, but it was also cold and wet, and the last thing she wanted to do at the start of winter vacation was get sick.

Beside her, Kaito made a 'hmm' kind of noise and picked up his pace. He jogged forward to catch up to Shinichi where he pulled an umbrella out of thin air. Ran wondered where he'd been hiding it. Then again, he was a magician in all senses of the word.

"That's rather sweet," Sonoko giggled, temporarily distracted from her conversation with Kazuha, then shot the people walking behind her a pointed look. "You lot could learn from him."

Heiji snorted and rolled his eyes. He wondered if she would still think the magician was 'sweet' if she knew there was an island somewhere in the sea that had been completely wiped of all geological features by that very same teen because he'd lost his temper. Remembering that day still sent chills down his spine.

And then of course there was that incident on Halloween. Altogether it was enough to make him swear on all things he held sacred to never, ever get on Kaito's bad side.

Ahead of them, Shinichi continued walking, still lost in his own world.

It had been so long since he had seen snow. The last time…the last time his parents and Toichi-san had still been alive. Both their families had been on vacation. It had been a lodge by a lake. He couldn't remember what the lake was called or where it was, but he could remember how amazing it had looked all frozen over and dusted with snow. They had built snowmen. Toichi-san had made a snow dragon, its scales glittering with ice crystals. Naturally Kaito had wanted to ride the dragon. The snow, however, didn't appreciate being climbed on. The head fell off. Kaito had wanted his father to remake it, but the older man had insisted he figure out how to do it himself. It took hours, but Kaito wasn't the kind of person who ever gave up on something he wanted. And this time the dragon was sturdy enough to take the weight of two children.

He remembered having hot chocolate by the lodge hearth. His father had read everyone a story, He couldn't remember what it had been about, but he did remember how happy they'd all been.

He shook his head to clear it of the haunting memories. They couldn't go back to the times they'd lost, but they were here now and that was what was important.

"Are you all right?"

Glancing up, he found Kaito walking beside him. He blinked when he noticed the umbrella, then smiled. "I'm fine," he said honestly, because in the end the present mattered more than the past.

Kaito studied his face for a moment before nodding, absently reaching over to brush Shinichi's bangs out of his eyes.

The sound of a throat being cleared made them both turn. Sonoko and the other girls had caught up to them while they weren't paying attention and the petit girl was holding a white envelope out towards them. They blinked at her in confusion.

"Well?" she said impatiently when neither of them moved. "Are you going to take it or not?"

Shinichi took the envelope. "What is it?"

"Just look at it when you get home and give me an answer by Sunday. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going the other way."

And with that they headed down one of the branching streets. Hattori sent the two a wave goodbye as Hakuba nodded. In moments they were gone, leaving only the unmarked, white envelope in Shinichi's hands.

X

"So would you like to take a guess as to what it is?" Kaito asked.

Shinichi glanced at the envelope lying on the table between them and shook his head. "I think I'd rather open it and find out the normal way."

Kaito nodded in understanding and picked up the envelope. The two of them were seated at their kitchen table. Shinichi had made coffee—a substance he had grown progressively more and more fond of, much to the magician's befuddlement since as far as he could tell the only thing the stuff had going for it was that it smelled nice. What he did like was the hot chocolate Shinichi had made for him instead.

Indigo eyes examined the envelope for a moment before the magician grinned and brushed his fingers along the envelope's top. The contents slid out of the papery container without ever breaking it, leaving Kaito holding a card and a sealed but empty envelope.

Shinichi blinked then shook his head, smiling faintly. Since Kaito had promised not to use magic in public unless it was an emergency, he found every excuse he could to do so at home. It was a comfort in its own way. Kaito would always be Kaito.

"Looks like it's an invitation," the magician announced, reading over the neatly typed message. "Two weeks at one of her family's vacation homes. There will be skiing, skating, etc. Sounds fun. Should I give her a call and say we're going?"

"But what about your mom?"

"We'll ask her when she gets back, though you know she's going to tell us to go. Besides, it means she'll get to accept that offer from the hotel—you remember, the one where she gets a free five-day stay as long as she bakes a few cakes for the parties they're holding while she's there."

And of course he was right. Which was why Monday morning saw them climbing into the back of Hakuba's car as Ran explained from the front passenger seat that the others had gone in a different car. They would rendezvous at the Suzukis' vacation home.


	2. Picturesque

It was fascinating, Shinichi thought, that there were entire plazas dedicated just to allowing people to take a break from their road trips and relax or grab a bite to eat. Ran called them 'rest areas', which he supposed made sense. It was just…odd in a kind of sensible way.

"I wonder what it's like to be so captivated by such normal things," Hakuba mused as he sat beside Ran on one of the benches by the parking lot and watched the oracle wandering from corner to corner of the mismatched convenience stores and eateries accompanied by Kaito, who had made it a personal goal to eat an ice cream at every stop despite the chilly weather.

"It's not normal to them," the brunette pointed out before smiling. "I think we could learn from them though. I mean, looking at them… It just makes me think, people don't appreciate what they have nearly often enough."

The blonde turned to her in some surprise before glancing down at the thermos of tea in his hands. "I suppose that's true enough."

"It'll be their first time celebrating Christmas," Ran continued, eyes growing determined. She was going to do her best to make sure it was a good experience.

Saguru was giving her a thoughtful look but all he said was, "We should get going. If we spend this much time at every rest stop we're not going to get there until tomorrow, and I for one do not find the idea of camping in the car overnight to be very appealing."

X

The Suzukis' vacation home sat in the mountains far enough from the nearest town to feel like it was in the middle of nowhere. This meant that each of the two cars had been assigned a different batch of supplies to either bring or procure before heading up the final trail to said house. So it was that they were loading a few extra bags of food and other necessities onto the car when it began to snow again.

A chill that had nothing to do with the cold slithered down Shinichi's spine and he turned around quickly. For an instant the world turned white. Cold and white and burning in only the way cold could.

Then he was looking at the innocuous street again as tiny, harmless flakes drifted down from the sky.

But the unnatural cold was still there, clinging to his senses like oil.

"Shinichi?"

He turned to find the others all watching him. Hakuba and Ran looked confused. Kaito just looked worried (or at least he did to Shinichi. To most everyone else he would probably have just looked mildly curious).

He offered them all a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking. Are we leaving then?"

"Yep, we've got everything we need. You two might have to squeeze in a bit," Ran said apologetically as she turned back to the car. "We ran out of space in the trunk."

"It's okay, we don't mind sharing space with the luggage," Kaito assured her.

Soon they were all back in the car. Shinichi was glad that they didn't ask anymore questions, though Kaito was still giving him that look.

"It was nothing," he said quietly as the car pulled out of the parking lot. "It was just a flash. I think maybe we're going to have heavy snows soon. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

Kaito studied his face for several moments before nodding and wrapping an arm around his waist. "As long as you're sure. Just promise you'll tell me if you think it might be more."

"I will," Shinichi promised. Closing his eyes, he curled closer to Kaito's side, burying his face in the magician's shoulder and focusing on the warmth he offered. Finally the chill began to melt away.

X

They arrived at the house to find that the others were already there. They had already aired out the rooms and prepared them for residence. Now they pitched in to help unload the rest of their supplies.

"There aren't enough rooms for everyone to have their own," Sonoko announced as she led them around the house and pointed out where they should each put their personal belongings. "Most of the rooms have two beds since we furnished for guests."

"Why do I have to room with him?" Hattori complained when she directed Hakuba to place his luggage into the room where the dark-skinned detective had already placed his own.

"Because they're obviously not splitting up," she replied, jerking her thumb at the room across the hall where the open door gave them a pretty good view of Kaito pulling clothes out of a pack and handing them to Shinichi who was placing them into the closet. "And when we drew straws Makoto drew the single room for you guys. So deal."

"If it makes you feel any better," the blonde in question said dryly. "I too would have preferred any other arrangement."

Heiji bristled and Sonoko rolled her eyes. Honestly, boys could be so immature. "When you guys are done, Kazuha brought takeout. We're eating in the living room since it has the best view."

Resigned to his fate, Heiji trudged back into the room to finish the last of his unpacking. He was just placing the three books he'd brought with him onto the room's small shelf with the seven Hakuba had brought when he realized that the guide book he was holding was the same volume sitting on the far left of the blonde's. He stared at it a moment then put his copy back into his pack. The last thing he wanted was to be reminded every time he saw the shelf that they had anything at all in common.

Hakuba, who had happened to glance over the other detective's shoulder in time to see the two identical titles, chose not to comment.

X

The view from the living room really was amazing. The windows in the room were massive affairs that occupied almost the entirety of the front wall. They looked out onto rolling slopes of snow that descended towards the valley below. Dark, green fir trees caked with snow rose to either side to go marching down the slopes where they spread out in a green and white carpet. In the distance other snow coated slopes painted gray and purple mists on the horizons. It might have felt a little hemmed in if the other cliffs hadn't been so far away, but as it was the sight spoke of all the grandeur of the mountains.

"It's even better when there's more daylight," Sonoko explained.

"I can't wait to see it," Kazuha replied, setting her empty plate down and standing up. "I'll make hot chocolate. Does everyone want one?"

Murmurs of ascent filled the room and Ran and Makoto offered to help. The three disappeared into the kitchen.

Shinichi cleared his throat once they'd left, turning questioning eyes to the people remaining. "We were wondering, the invitation said something about a game called White Elephant. Could someone explain the rules? We've never heard of it before."

"It is a fairly simple game," Hakuba began. "The idea is that each of us will procure one present and package it so that it cannot be easily identified. Then on the day of the game—in this case, Christmas Eve—all the presents will be placed together. No one but you are allowed to know what you have wrapped. At that point, we will determine a choosing order, most likely by drawing lots."

"God you make it sound so boring," Heiji interjected before the blonde could finish.

Hakuba shot him a glare. "I am simply explaining the game."

"Yeah, but you make it sound like a—a—I don't know, like a school assignment."

"So how would you propose to explain it instead?" the blonde shot back, eyes narrowing.

"Like this." Heiji turned to the two transfer students. "Okay, so basically everyone brings a present—a general one that could be for anyone—and we put 'em together. Then we take turns picking from the pile. The thing is, if, say, the second person to choose likes what the first person got, they can choose to steal it instead of picking one of the unknown presents, then the first person chooses a new one to open. Or, if there's someone else already with a present, they can steal that instead—though they can't take it from the person who just took from them. Each present can only be stolen a certain number of times though."

"So this is a Christmas game?"

"Mostly," Hakuba agreed. "Although it is sometimes played on other occasions such as during weddings or simply as a party game."

"We decided to play it since we're not doing Christmas gifts," Sonoko added.

Almost like it had been timed, Makoto reappeared in the living room just as the explanation came to an end. "Chocolate's ready!"

Mugs were passed around the room before Sonoko produced a collection of cardboard boxes of varying sizes from underneath the coffee table. "So now that we've got drinks, who wants to play a game?"

The rest of the evening was spent playing card games. Shinichi volunteered to clean up their plates before settling down to watch. He'd decided not to play himself since it was too hard not to know exactly which cards were going to turn up next in everyone's hands. Instead he made himself comfortable on the couch next to Kaito with a mug full of hot chocolate. The games faded into a surreal blur. He vaguely recalled hearing someone ask Kaito how it was that he was winning every game before he drifted into sleep.

He dreamed of a figure white as new fallen snow. In its hands it held a clear, glass orb. And when he looked into the orb he saw the mountains and the town cradled in the valley. He even saw the Suzukis' vacation home.

Then everything turned white.

Outside, the snow began to fall.


	3. On the Slopes

The sun rose the following morning over a fresh layer of snow.

"It looks like it's going to be a great day for skiing," Ran observed as she moved about the kitchen, preparing breakfast. "We should probably try to get to the slopes early though. It's bound to be crowded later. Saguru, could you cut the mushrooms for me?"

The blonde nodded and took the carton of mushrooms from her.

"There anything I should do?" Heiji asked from his seat at the table. He wasn't exactly what anyone would call a good cook, but it felt a little awkward to be the only person in the room not doing something.

"You could go wake the others," Ran replied. "The omelets won't take long to make once the ingredients are all ready. And there're only two bathrooms so people are going to have to take turns."

"Right, I'm going."

The dark-skinned detective made his way up the stairs. The first door he came to was the one Makoto was in. The door was already open though and the bathroom opposite was emitting the sound of running water. The next door down was his and Hakuba's room. Turning to the closed door across from it, he knocked. When no one responded he opened the door and poked his head inside.

He noticed two things immediately. First of all, one of the beds was empty and too neat to have been slept in. Second, the other bed was a little more occupied than its twin size was meant for. The two were curled up together, Shinichi's head tucked under Kaito's chin, and all around looking very much like they had spent the night that way. Face flushing in embarrassment, he jerked his head back out of the room and yanked the door shut.

Of course by now just about everyone in school was sure the two were a couple. They never referred to each other with the usual terms couples used, but it was kind of hard to miss how close they were, especially during the few weeks immediately following the island incident (during which Kaito spent most of his time hovering over the oracle like, according to a giggling Sonoko, a dragon over his gold). But knowing that the two were a couple wasn't quite the same as knowing that they'd apparently spent the night in the same bed (somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice that sounded suspiciously like Hakuba said "That is why you do not enter other people's rooms uninvited". Stupid blonde). Naturally he didn't know if they'd ever…well, anyway, it wasn't any of his business and he didn't want to think about it.

Instead he turned to wander down the hall to the last door. The girls were sharing the master bedroom. This time however he considered the door for a long moment before deciding to just bang on the door as loudly as he could.

Kaito cracked open one eye to look at the closed door. He wondered idly why Hattori had left in such a hurry when he'd obviously come to call them.

Well, that just meant they had a little more time before they had to head out and start the day.

It was so quiet here. No sound of traffic or any of the other noises of city life. The only sounds he could hear were the soft rushing of the shower next door and, somewhere farther away, the voice of a girl berating Hattori for trying to pound the door down. It was strange because he'd never imagined they would be in such a place with such people. He'd only ever dreamed of setting them free. He'd envisioned taking Shinichi and his mother to some place far away from the rest of the human world where no one would ever be able to harm them again. However, though unexpected, he rather liked this life they'd found. He really did.

It was just that sometimes…sometimes he wondered if it wouldn't still be better to find that sanctuary.

It still haunted him, the thought—the knowledge—that last time Shinichi had disappeared he wouldn't have been able to find the oracle so quickly if it hadn't been for Shiho and her compatriots' information. He didn't know what he would have done if they hadn't shown up. Turned the city upside down probably (maybe even literally). Problem was, it might not have helped. Such a situation could never be allowed to happen again.

There were times when he couldn't help but wonder why it was that he could have all the power of real magic at his fingertips and still be unable to protect the things that mattered most to him. Fate sure had a warped sense of humor.

On the other hand, they were here now and that was what was important.

They should probably be joining the others. It was a shame to have to wake Shinichi so early when they were technically on vacation though.

Placing two fingers under his sleeping companion's chin, he gently tilted the boy's head up. He spent a few moments just studying Shinichi's face, for once peaceful in slumber. The oracle had been sleeping better lately. They weren't sure if that meant his powers were calming down or if it was just a lull, but either way they were grateful.

He wondered sometimes if Shinichi ever dreamed normal dreams. The oracle had told him that he sometimes dreamed about the past instead of the future, but he never talked about dreams that weren't one or the other.

"Kai…?"

He smiled at the sleepy inquiry as unfocused blue eyes blinked slowly at him.

"It's time to get up Shin-chan." Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss on the oracle's lips before hopping out of bed and making a beeline for the closet. "We're going to the ski slopes today. I'm sure you won't want to miss it."

Shinichi made an incoherent grumbling noise that sounded vaguely like a form of complaint but he did sit up and scoot to the edge of the bed, stifling a yawn as he went.

X

A fifteen minute drive saw the group at the local ski resort. It was the only ski resort in the area and it happily received all those who came in search of the sport. The line for equipment rentals meandered through the rental building before extending out into the open air and performing a handful of twists and turns like some monstrous, lethargic serpent slithering inch by laborious inch across the frozen land. It would have been pretty boring if it hadn't been for the magician of the party. It was mostly little things—a color-changing snowball that hatched a snow bird who flew off only to dissolve in a shower of white flakes and blooming roses made of ice—but it was enough to pass the time for everyone within viewing distance. Hattori jokingly suggested they set up by the side of the line and put out hats and see if they could make some money.

Once they'd gotten their equipment, they headed out to the sprawling white field of snow from which all the lifts left and at which most of the runs ended.

"So you just put your foot—shoe and everything—into this contraption here and press down like this," Hattori explained to the two teens in the group who were new to the sport. "You should be able to feel it clicking into place. Then shake your foot to make sure the ski doesn't fall off."

The next few minutes were spent with everyone readying themselves for the slopes. They propelled themselves around a few times on the almost nonexistent incline where they were so that the less experienced skiers could get a feel for the motions. That done, they packed up and headed for the lifts.

"Are you sure you want to go straight to the hard slopes?" Ran asked anxiously as they stood in line to ride the lift. "I mean, it's your guys' first time skiing, right? Wouldn't it be better to start with an easier run?"

"We're not going to run into anyone," Shinichi replied confidently.

"Well…I guess if you say so…" It was kind of hard to argue with the oracle sometimes, she thought with wry amusement, considering she knew he really could see into the future. And he had this way of saying things that just made them sound true. She often found herself wondering if there was more to some statement he'd made or question he asked than was apparent on the surface. It seemed that maybe she wasn't the only one who wondered, she observed as she noticed that Saguru and Heiji had also paused to watch as the oracle positioned himself carefully at the top of the slope with the air of someone picking just the right spot. Then both he and Kaito were off.

This particular run was long and steep but straight. From the top you could see all the way to the bottom where little, moving specks against the white of the snow showed where there were people. This gave Ran and her companions a splendid vantage point from which to watch their friends.

Heiji whistled.

Shinichi had gone straight down the slope all the way from top to bottom in one unbroken line without slowing or stopping or causing other people to scramble out of the way. And as he'd said, he hadn't hit a single person. Kaito's journey wasn't quite as ruler-straight, but he maneuvered his way down the slope with an ease that made it look like he had been skiing for years.

"Am I the only one who thinks that's creepy?" Hattori asked no one in particular, shaking his head.

"What do you mean? I thought it was amazing," Kazuha replied, giving the dark-skinned detective an odd look. "I mean, he didn't even have to turn!"

"More like weird," Sonoko muttered under her breath. "And I thought Kaito said this was his first time. It sure doesn't look like his first time."

Kazuha shrugged. "Guess he's just a natural. Come on, we're here to ski too, not stand around and watch other people having fun."

By the time they piled out of the snow and into one of the indoor food courts, they were all exhausted, but in the happy, buzzing way of the contented. They found themselves a table and collapsed onto the chairs. Equipment still wet with melting snow was shoved under the table where they would be out of the way. Sonoko, who was the only one who'd been to the place before, headed off to get them some food, ordering Makoto and Hattori to go with her and carry the trays. The rest of them set about ridding themselves of their heavy jackets and settled down to wait.

Shinichi smiled to himself as he hung his own jacket over the back of his chair before sitting. The warm, vivid atmosphere was everything he'd hoped it would be. All the people here were so happy. Then again, he supposed that was what this place was for—to let people leave their daily worries behind for a while and enjoy themselves. Looking around at them all made the world feel brighter.

His gaze landed on one of the many large windows through which the people in the food court could look out at the slopes. A handful of people were sitting on the snow outside, taking a break. Like everyone else out there they were bundled up in thick clothes for warmth. They were all seated facing out towards the runs, watching the people come zipping down from above. The only exception was a girl sitting on the far left in a white jacket, hat, and scarf that made her blend into the background. She sat facing the window, looking in. It was really rather odd, he thought.

He was pulled from his musings by the sound of a quiet "excuse me". He looked up to see that a woman in a green coat had stopped beside their table right beside Kaito's seat.

The magician glanced up at her inquiringly. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Well, you see," the woman started, "I teach at the local school, and, well, I saw that magic show you were putting on at the rental building earlier and I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to perform for the kids tomorrow. It would be a great treat for the children, I'm sure, and I would really appreciate it if you would. Although if it's inconvenient for you, that's all right too. I know this must seem rather sudden and—"

"I would be happy to put on a magic show for your students," Kaito cut in before the flustered woman could get too tongue-tied. "I'm not familiar with this area though."

"Oh, I'd be happy to show you the way if you meet me outside the grocery tomorrow at noon. Do you know where the grocery is?"

He nodded.

"Here, let me give you my phone number," the woman continued, excitement and relief lighting up her face. "If you have any questions, just call me any time." She thanked him again before taking her leave.

"Wow, that's really cool, Kaito," Kazuha exclaimed the moment she had gone. "Would it be okay if I came to watch too?"

The magician blinked then shrugged. "I don't see why not, as long as the school's okay with it."

"School?" Sonoko's voice piped up, announcing her return. "Why in the world are you guys talking about school at a time like this?"

"Oh, no, it's not our school," Ran explained as she reached over to help pass out the food.

Sonoko listened to the story with interest before giving Kaito a look with raised eyebrows. "Seems you really made an impression huh?"

"Seems so. Then again, I am a master of my art." The magician winked and laughed but Shinichi could see that behind the nonchalance he was excited. Coming here had definitely been the right decision, he thought, accepting one of the steaming mugs of hot chocolate from Makoto. Now if only he could shake that feeling that there was something he should be noticing…

For an instant the marshmallows turned into mountains and the cream a whirl of windblown snow. But then he blinked and the vision was gone. It had passed by so quickly that he couldn't be sure he had seen anything at all, except that he knew he had.


	4. From the Outside

"No," Kaito said again, expression set and tone adamant.

"But Kai…please?" Shinichi tried again, resorting to a pleading look. "I really wanted to visit the shops."

The magician's expression wavered for a moment before it hardened into a deeper frown. "You can go tomorrow, when we can go together."

The oracle's mind raced, trying to come up with a good reason why he couldn't wait. It wasn't that he didn't want to go with Kaito. It was just that there was something he wanted to do that he couldn't do if Kaito came with him. He might have been able to slip away, but he couldn't do that to Kaito. Unlike him, the magician didn't have the luxury of being able to know where he was and if he was all right just by concentrating. The fear of not being there if something happened was something they all—he, Kaito, and Kaito's mother—shared. Still, this was something he'd been thinking about for a while. Ever since he'd had a conversation with Ran a few weeks back about Christmas.

Probably responding to his thoughts, a piece of knowledge surfaced in his mind. "The shop I want to go to closes for the holidays tomorrow."

"After the performance then."

"I…" he trailed off, drawing a blank as to what else he could say. He'd already tried everything he could think of.

That was when Hattori popped his head in from the kitchen (where the rest of the group had been eavesdropping. Although, in their defense, they hadn't meant to, it was just—hard not to hear). "You know, Hakuba and I were going to head to the shops while the rest of you go to the school anyway. Shinichi could come with us," he offered. "We'll keep an eye on him."

The look Kaito shot him almost sent him scampering back to the safety of the kitchen, but it lasted for only a split second before it smoothed over into something unreadable. Indigo eyes flickered back to Shinichi's hopeful blues. They softened, growing thoughtful. There was something Shinichi wasn't telling him, but it wasn't something dangerous—he would have said something if it was. And, well, the town was only so big.

X

"So where'd you wanna go?" Heiji asked the oracle as he and Hakuba trailed after the boy who seemed to know exactly where he was going in this town none of them had ever been to before.

"It's called Kagami's," came the absentminded reply that didn't really tell the two detectives anything. He paused suddenly so that the others almost ran right into him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked you two where you wanted to go. Kagami's is on the other side of the town so if there's anywhere in particular you two want to go we should probably stop there first."

"I didn't have anywhere particular in mind." The dark-skinned teen shrugged. "I was just thinking we'd drop in on anywhere that looked interesting."

"I need to drop by the stone carving shop we passed when we drove through on our way to the house," Hakuba said.

"Stone carving huh?" Heiji raised his eyebrows at him. "What in the world would you want from there? Or are you taking up sculpting?"

"No, I am not."

"That's a relief."

The blonde's brows furrowed. "Why?"

"Because we all know you've got no artistic skills whatsoever," the other detective explained with a grin.

The comment earned him a frosty glare. "I wouldn't be judging other people's artistic skills if I were you. I wasn't the one whose drawing the teacher used as a sample of what should not be done."

"That was only because I missed the bit on the instructions that said you weren't supposed to use lines!"

"We're here," Shinichi interjected before either detective could say anymore.

The shop was a little on the dimly lit side but Hakuba seemed to know what he wanted as he disappeared into its murky depths the moment they stepped inside. The other two were left to wander among the various sculptures and other decorations big and small that stood in aisles or crowded onto the shelves. Some of the work was truly amazing, Shinichi noted, coming to a stop in front of a pedestal on which a pair of deer stood side by side, their muzzles turned towards each other as though sharing a quiet conversation. The animal on the left had a crown of antlers, which he recalled from a wildlife encyclopedia he'd started looking through meant it was male. He wondered if there were any deer in these mountains. On the front of the pedestal beneath the statue was a plaque bearing its name, its creator's name, and a small photograph—presumably of said creator. He noted with interest that he recognized the girl in the photo. She'd been at the ski slopes. It really was incredible how the world could be so large and yet so small at the same time.

"So what did you buy?" Hattori asked curiously as he and Shinichi joined the blonde at the register, having spotted him handing over the money to complete his purchase.

Hakuba started violently, apparently only just noticing their presence, and hurried to snatch his purchase off the counter. He wasn't fast enough however to hide the item from his friends' curious eyes. They both saw the small, orchid pendant. It had been carved out of some kind of dark red stone and polished until it practically glowed. It was simple but elegant.

Hattori snickered loudly. "Aw, isn't that cute. It's for Ran, isn't it?"

The blonde glared at him as he stowed the pendant safely away in his jacket pocket. "I don't see how it's any of your business."

Heiji rolled his eyes. "Fine, be that way. But I thought we weren't doing personal gifts this year."

"Which doesn't mean we can't," the blonde replied stiffly.

Shinichi watched the two resume their bickering as they headed out of the shop, smiling faintly in baffled amusement. He'd never quite grasped why the two were always fighting, but after prolonged observation he had come to the conclusion that it was just the way they expressed their friendship. It was a little odd, but if he'd learned anything about people since moving to the city it was that people came in all kinds of shapes and personalities.

They made one more stop at the grocery store where they picked up a few extra snacks before they finally reached Kagami's. The place turned out to be an arts and crafts shop. The two detectives shared a look of surprise as they stepped past the stand of poinsettias being sold at the door. They'd assumed Shinichi was looking for something to put in the white elephant game since he and Kaito hadn't known what it was before coming and therefore would have been unprepared. What could he want from an art supply store? Especially considering most of their group wasn't all that artistically inclined.

Shinichi, however, was already walking off, leaving the two to wonder.

X

The thing about things, Shinichi had decided, was that people always wanted more of them than they really needed. Of course, that never stopped anyone from wanting them. He himself had to remind himself that the next issue in the most recent series of books he was reading was not a necessity and he was perfectly capable of waiting his turn to borrow it from the library. Of course he knew Kaito would get him anything he wanted, but that was precisely why he did his best not to want many things. Besides, he knew he already had everything he really needed to be happy.

Even so, there was one thing he knew they all wished they had. While no power in the world could give it to them, there was one thing only he could do. He'd been thinking about it for a while but it wasn't until that evening talk learning about Christmas that he'd made up his mind to try.

He thanked the clerk as the man handed him his purchases in a small, paper bag. He had just turned away and was about to go in search of his companions when he spotted a familiar figure outside the shop window.

X

"How the hell did this happen?" Heiji groaned, smacking his forehead with one hand before taking another hopeful look around the crafts store. Unfortunately, nothing had changed. There was still no sign of a particular, dark-haired oracle. Of course, it was vaguely possible that he was lost somewhere amidst the other customers.

Or not. The place wasn't empty, but it wasn't exactly crowded either. It certainly wasn't crowded enough to hide a person from two detectives who were actively looking for him.

Hakuba sighed. "He must've left when we weren't looking."

"Why would he do that?"

"I am supposed to know this how exactly?"

Heiji gave his companion a frown. "How can you be so unconcerned about this?"

"There is no reason for panic. I highly doubt he can actually get lost with his—unusual skills."

"That's probably true," Heiji conceded. "However, I don't know about you, but I, for one, don't want to find out what Kaito is going to do to us if we go back and say we lost Shinichi."

Hakuba turned this statement over in his head then grimaced. "You have a point."

"Glad you agree. So I say we either find him or hope like hell that he gets back before we do."

X

He didn't know why he'd gone outside. All he knew was that something was telling him he should talk to the girl and he'd learned long ago to listen to that feeling.

By the time he got outside however the girl had already set off along the street. He called out after her but she either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. It wasn't until she'd turned a corner into a residential street that he caught up to her. She had come to a stop in front of one of the houses. She didn't say or do anything, just stood there in the middle of the street, looking at the warm glow of the fire lit windows. There was something about the look in her eyes—cold and empty with a dash of anguish—that sent an uneasy chill down his spine.

"Miss?" he asked hesitantly, steps slowing to a stop a few paces away from her. "Are you all right?"

She cast him a surprised look before turning back to the windows. "Why do you care? It's none of your business."

Shinichi shifted his weight a little uncomfortably at the derision in her voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry, but I thought you looked like you might want to talk to someone."

"Yeah? Well, you're wrong. Go away."

An uncomfortable silence fell. Shinichi was at a bit of a loss for words. He didn't really have all that much experience in talking to strangers by himself. Obviously he'd said something wrong—or at least he'd said something she found wrong—and it would probably be more polite to take his leave as she had not so subtly demanded. But that feeling of wrongness was still there and it had something to do with this girl.

"Um, I think maybe you should go home," he tried again, noticing that she was shivering. The way her hand was clutching her scarf made it clear that said scarf and the jacket she was wearing weren't doing their job as well as they should. "I could—"

"I can't!" she snapped angrily, cutting him off. "I can never go in there again." Spinning on her heels, she started walking away.

"Wait!" he called after her, seized by a sudden sense of urgency. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

The girl only picked up her pace, breaking out into a flat out run.

He took a step after her, but his vision wavered and went white. It lasted only for a moment—or at least that was how it felt to him, but when the world came back into focus the girl was gone and he was lying in the snow. It took a moment longer for his befuddled mind to register that there were voices calling his name.


	5. White Winds

"Shinichi!" Sprinting through the snow, Heiji dropped to his knees beside the figure lying prone in the snow and grabbed his shoulder. "What happened? Are you all right?"

The oracle sat up, turning to stare around with an expression Heiji had never seen on his face before. "Where did she go?"

"Where did who go?" Hakuba asked, coming up beside the two.

"That girl—the one in the white jacket."

The two detectives traded looks and Hattori frowned. "We only saw you. Why'd you leave the shop without telling us?"

"I had to talk to that girl."

"You keep talking about this girl," the blonde began, his own frown deepening as he looked down the street beyond. "But there are no footprints here to show that there was anyone else here but you."

It was the oracle's turn to give them a confused look before he followed Hakuba's gaze to the deserted street. The detective was right. There were no footprints.

"But…she was right there. I talked to her and she answered…"

The detectives shared another long look. Hattori cleared his throat a tad awkwardly. "We're not saying you imagined her or anything," he began. "But, well, seeing as you can, you know, see things and stuff, maybe it wasn't really a person you thought you were talking to."

"Visions never speak."

"Er, yeah, we'd have to take your word for that, but isn't it possible that maybe they've just never done so before?"

"I…suppose it may be possible," Shinichi conceded, though it was clear he wasn't convinced. It was true that he only had his own experiences to draw upon, but he did remember his mother telling him before that visions did not speak. And even if he and his mother were both wrong and visions did speak, he was sure they wouldn't converse with you.

"Why don't we go get something hot to drink?" Hakuba suggested, carefully diverting everyone's attention onto a less surreal topic. "I believe something warm will do us all some good."

X

They were on their way back when they passed by the sculpture store they had visited earlier that day. Shinichi stopped abruptly in his tracks, forcing Hattori to scramble to avoid running him over.

"What—" the dark-skinned detective started but Shinichi had already turned and ran into the shop. "The hell?"

Hakuba just shook his head and followed the other teen into the shop, snagging Hattori's sleeve as he went and towing him along as well. They arrived inside to see Shinichi deep in conversation with the shopkeeper.

"—was one of my best students, actually," the man was saying. "That beautiful piece with the deer was the last one she made."

"Do you know how I might be able to find her?" Shinichi asked.

A cloud passed over the man's face and he shook his head slowly. "There isn't one lad. She passed away last year."

"A—are you sure?"

The man shrugged, lips pressed tightly together. "There are some who'd say otherwise, but most of us have accepted the facts by now. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…I—I thought I saw her," the oracle admitted a touch hesitantly, not sure how the man would take it. "I remembered seeing her picture here when I was looking at her work."

The shopkeeper closed his eyes. "You must've seen someone else. Those souls the mountain takes don't come back."

They left the shop in a much subdued mood. The two detectives were trying to figure out what exactly this new piece of information meant. So Shinichi thought he'd seen—and spoken—to a girl who was supposed to have been "taken by the mountain" a year ago. There was a time when they would have dismissed it as either a case of mistaken identity or some kind of delusion on the part of their friend, but these days they'd learned not to dismiss these things too quickly. Shinichi was, after all, an oracle.

For his part, Shinichi was more confused as to why he had been able to speak with and otherwise interact with that girl if she had only been a vision. That had never happened before. But what else could she have been? Could this be some new kind of vision? Or something else?

"Is there any way to find out exactly what happened last year?" he wondered aloud.

"We could visit the local library," Hakuba suggested. "It is a fairly common practice for small libraries to archive their local papers. However, I would recommend we retire for today and come back tomorrow morning. It's getting dark and I do not think it is a good idea to walk the trails after nightfall. It could be dangerous."

Shinichi frowned slightly at the delay but didn't argue.

A light snow had begun to fall.

X

They were greeted upon their arrival back at the Suzuki vacation home by a madly grinning Kaito carrying a massive, cardboard box.

"Look Shin-chan!" he exclaimed, holding the box up for the oracle to see. "They were making these gingerbread house things at the school, and since they had extra kits they let us bring one back!"

Shinichi wandered over to examine the box with curious eyes. "They were making houses out of candy?"

"Yeah. Little ones—that you eat afterward. Cool, right?" Tucking the box under one arm, he looped the other arm around the oracle (simultaneously relieving Shinichi of his bag and making it disappear) and steered him into the living room. "I want to try putting it together. Join me?"

The two detectives were left in the front hallway to trade bemused looks. They shrugged and set about divesting themselves of their heavy coats and shoes. Then, being the naturally nosy people they were, they moved to peer into the living room to see how their peculiar friends were doing with the gingerbread house.

The magician and the oracle were sitting on the floor by the low table in the living room, Shinichi on Kaito's lap. The ingredients of the gingerbread house lay spread out before them in little sugary piles. The foundations of the gingerbread house had already been laid and now occupied the place of honor at the table's center. Kaito was holding pieces of gingerbread in place as Shinichi carefully glued the pieces together with icing. The instructions lay open on the floor beside the two. Every now and then Shinichi would pick up a piece of candy from the pile waiting to be used and pass it back to Kaito who would eat it and then decide whether they would use that kind of candy or not.

"Maybe we should warn them those boxed kinds always taste nasty," Hattori muttered.

"And deprive them of the joy of discovering that for themselves?"

The dark-skinned detective's jaw dropped as he turned to stare at his companion. "Did you just make a joke?"

"Not really," the blonde replied blandly (though Heiji would swear later he saw the corners of his lips twitching). "I was being perfectly serious. I believe they really would prefer to find out for themselves."

"I suppose." Heiji cast one last look into the living room then turned and headed for the kitchen. "Come on, let's see what they got us for dinner."

Back in the living room, Shinichi was trying to think only of the cookie and candy house. Having Kaito's arms around him again made much of the tension drain out of him. He didn't want to think about the strange chills that were still running through him despite the warmth and the strange girl he had talked to who was supposed to be dead. There would be time to think about it tomorrow when they could go to the library and look up what had really happened. It wasn't easy though, especially when his vision kept flickering white.

"Something's bothering you," Kaito said abruptly.

The oracle winced inwardly before letting out a quiet sigh. "It's nothing."

The hand Kaito wasn't using to hold the tube of icing rose and gripped his chin with firm but gentle fingers, forcing him to turn his head and meet the magician's indigo gaze. "Shinichi."

He didn't say anything more than that, but the oracle understood the tone in his voice and that look in his eyes. Letting his breath out in a resigned sigh, Shinichi leaned his head against the magician's shoulder.

"I think I saw a ghost today."

That…was not what Kaito had been expecting. He blinked. "Really? Are you sure?"

"No, but she talked to me. Visions don't talk. And the man at the sculpture store said she was taken by the mountain a year ago."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Taken by the mountain?"

"I don't know exactly what that entails, but I do know he meant she passed away."

The magician mulled this information over for a long moment before speaking again. "Did she say something that bothers you?"

"No, it wasn't that." The girl's words had been strange—sad and angry and desperate in a way that made the heart ache—but it wasn't what she'd said that bothered him. "I've never seen a ghost before. I don't know what it means."

"Maybe it doesn't mean anything," Kaito suggested. "I know you're used to things that do, but not everything in the world has to happen for a reason."

Shinichi turned that idea over then shook his head. "No, it does mean something. I just don't know what yet."

The magician puffed out his cheeks then blew out the air in a huff. "No offense Shin-chan, but I hope you're wrong this time." Not, he thought ruefully, that the chances of that were very high. That was the problem with oracles. They didn't get meaningless hunches.

Letting his free hand fall back to its former position around Shinichi's waist, he tightened his embrace. He raised the tube of icing with the other hand and squirted some onto one wall of the gingerbread house. "Come on, let's add some windows. I don't like houses that don't have windows."

"Let's use these then." Shinichi picked up two large, round, flat gummies. They would make nice, large windows. They would be windows that were always full of sky.

Silently, he agreed with Kaito, but he knew that the chances of this uneasy feeling in his stomach being nothing were slim to none. Then again, that didn't mean he couldn't hope.

X

It was still snowing the following morning, but Shinichi insisted he still wanted to head down to town. The two detectives had then been saddled by Sonoko with the task of getting them more fresh groceries and extra decorations because she had decided that they didn't have enough of either. As Hattori grumbled over the shopping list—"It's two feet long! Why do we need so much stuff?!"—Kaito produced a large umbrella from nowhere and pulled Shinichi outside to watch the snow falling and wait for the others to be ready.

The town library was a rather minimal affair with only a handful of books and magazines to its name. Fortunately, it did archive the town newspaper as Hakuba had predicted. Unfortunately, they were kept in large boxes in the back all stacked on top of each other and labeled with a month and year. The three boxes spanning the winter months from the previous year all happened to be at the very bottom of a box tower.

"We're gonna have to move them all to even reach the right boxes," Hattori groaned. "And then we're going to have to read them all!"

Hakuba sighed, not sounding any happier than his fellow detective. "Then we had better get started."

"We want that one," Shinichi informed them, pointing to the December box—at the bottom of the three.

Hattori grimaced. "Anyone see a ladder?"

"Allow me." Stepping past him, Kaito glanced up and down the aisle to make sure there was no one there before he reached out with one hand and casually tugged the box they wanted out of the stack. The detectives cringed back as one, waiting for the whole thing to come tumbling down on them, but it didn't. Instead all the boxes that had been on top of the one Kaito just removed lowered themselves gently onto the floor like that was how they'd always been.

"Kaito!" Shinichi hissed, blue eyes darting anxiously up and around as though he expected someone to come leaping out at them and accuse them of a crime.

"Relax Shin-chan, there's no one else here." Scooping the box up into his arms, Kaito turned and strolled back out of the aisles and to the small collection of tables and chairs that had been set up for the use of the library's visitors. Once there, he set the box down with a thud and began pulling out papers. "So what does this girl look like?"

Five minutes later all the tables were covered in newspapers. Kaito and the two detectives would open up new pages and lay them out and Shinichi would run from table to table to scan them over before generally shaking his head. Then he would go to the next table and the person he'd just left would reassemble the paper and move on to the next one. It was a rather hectic business but they were making remarkably quick headway regardless. Mostly it was headway in discovering which issues were the wrong ones, but progress was progress.

The cry of "That's her!" had them all instantly gathered around Hattori's table. On it lay a spread of newspapers. Shinichi was pointing to a short obituary accompanied by the picture of a teenage girl.

"So her name is Kama Rei," Kaito stated, eyes skimming quickly over the obituary (but not before committing the girl's face to memory. She didn't look dangerous, but if Shinichi felt uneasy about her then obviously she wasn't harmless. The idea that she might be a ghost didn't really bother him, but the idea that she might be a threat did). "She got lost in the mountains and was never seen again."

"That was a terrible time, that was," a sandy voice sighed. They looked around to see that the old librarian had just wandered by their table and was shaking her head slowly from side to side.

"Is it common for people to get lost in the mountains?" Hakuba inquired.

The old woman gave him a look then shook her head. "Of course it isn't. The people of this town know their way around too well for that."

"But then what happened?" Hattori gestured at the obituary. "This just says she got lost."

The old woman's face crumpled slightly as a sigh escaped her lips. "A terrible time," she said again. "When you live here for a while, you learn to read the storms. We get quite a few of them during the winter. Everyone stays in then, but last year a group of teenagers decided to go and try the slopes as the blizzard was coming in. Young people these days, always think they can do anything, daring fate." She gave them all a look that suggested she intended that to be a lesson for the lot of them. "They realized their mistake and were lucky enough to make it back before the storm was over, but Rei got lost and didn't make it back with them. We had no idea where she'd gone at first. None of the kids reported what they'd done until her parents started looking for her, but of course by then it was too late."

"But why didn't they say anything?" Shinichi asked in confusion. It didn't make any sense to him.

The old woman sighed. "Who knows? Probably because they were scared. They weren't supposed to be out in the blizzard to begin with. Perhaps they were more afraid of admitting that they had made a mistake. Maybe they were afraid they'd be blamed. Or maybe they really thought everything would be all right and she'd have made it back on her own before they had to say anything. The family moved away after that. Can't blame them. Truly, it was a terrible thing…"

Silence fell over the room for a while as they each digested this information and the old woman simmered in her memories. Then the librarian turned back to them.

"I almost forgot, I came to tell you that you should probably head home. The storm's looking to get a lot worse soon and if you don't leave now you'll have to stay here."

"Oh, shoot, we still have to get groceries!" Leaping from his chair, Hattori swept the papers back into a stack and stuffed them haphazardly into their box. Hakuba folded his pile a great deal more neatly. For his part, Kaito just snapped his fingers. There was a puff of smoke and all the papers on his table vanished to reappear in the box.

The old librarian blinked at the display then laughed. "Well then, you had better hurry. And be careful. This storm is looking to be just as bad as the one last year."

Shinichi stiffened but Kaito was the only one who noticed. He didn't say anything though so the magician stashed the observation in the back of his mind for later.

Outside the snow was coming down like fluffy, white curtains, except that the flakes were not fluffy and most definitely not soft. They were cold and wet and some were big enough and flying fast enough to sting rather painfully as they were whipped into the teens' faces by the wind. With the erratic winds, their umbrellas had been rendered useless, leaving them with only their coats and scarves to shield them from the cold. They rushed through the super market in an attempt to get everything they'd been ordered to as quickly as possible. Even so, by the time they were done the air outside had become almost solidly white.

"This is ridiculous" Hattori hissed, trying and failing to find an angle that would keep his face out of the direct path of the wind. "How the hell are we supposed to get back to the house through this?"

"We could ask the owners of the next house we find if they will let us wait out the storm with them," Hakuba suggested, struggling to keep his teeth from chattering.

"I can lead us back," Shinichi called out, but his words were torn away by the wind. He could barely hear them himself and he had no idea if the others could even tell he had spoken.

Kaito cursed under his breath. He couldn't see a thing in this blizzard. He knew Shinichi was somewhere in the whiteness but he had no idea where. A second later, however, he walked right into someone's back. The someone let out a squeak of surprise that told him it was the boy he had been looking for. He wrapped an arm quickly around the oracle to prevent him from falling into the rapidly growing mounds of snow.

"This is ridiculous," he declared. Raising his free hand, he made a pushing motion with it. Shinichi could feel the power thrumming through the air as the curtains of white lashing past them suddenly began to draw away. It was like a transparent wall had sprung up around them and was driving the storm back. In moments the two were left standing inside a dome of stillness as the storm continued to rage just a few yards away in every direction. Then Hattori and Hakuba came stumbling out of the blizzard wall behind them, blinking in confusion at the sudden disappearance of said blizzard.

"What in the world…" Hattori breathed, eyes wide with awe. "What's…happening?"

"It'll be easier to get back this way," the magician declared, not bothering to answer the question. "Shin-chan, I assume you know the way?"

Shinichi nodded, glancing around a bit uncomfortably. Unlike the gaping detectives, Kaito's show of power didn't surprise him. It did, however, stir that familiar fear of being noticed. On the other hand, no one in that whirling wall of white beyond their bubble of calm could see the display. It was also true that this would make traveling back to the Suzuki house much easier. Well, if that was the case, the sooner they got back the better.

"Just follow me," he said to the group at large before turning to continue trudging down the street.

"This is so weird," Hattori muttered as the whole group resumed walking.

Beside him, Hakuba nodded in mute agreement. Believing in the existence of magic had been one hurdle he didn't mind admitting he had had difficulty crossing. By now, of course, he had accepted it. Facts were facts after all. Seeing that magic in action however was a different matter all together. He doubted he would ever get used to it. In fact, if given the choice, he would much rather not. Existence of magic or no, he would always prefer the sensible, logical world of logic and science.

X

"Hold it!"

All four of them froze and looked up to see Sonoko standing before them with a wide grin on her face. Having known her for several years, both Hattori and Hakuba took instinctive steps back. That was the expression Sonoko wore when she was about to make them do something horribly embarrassing. Last time she had looked at them like that they had ended up dressed as chickens for a school play.

Kaito and Shinichi, however, had only known Sonoko for a few months and didn't know to be wary. All they did was stop in the motion of stepping through the door and turn curious looks her way.

"You can't come in just like that," she announced, wagging a finger gleefully at them. "Look up!"

The two traded puzzled looks before doing as instructed. There was a row of little sprigs of leaves and berries across the top of the doorframe. They looked back to Sonoko who seemed to be expecting something.

"Is there a problem?" Shinichi asked finally when it became apparent that the girl wasn't planning on saying anything else.

She stared at them, nonplussed. "Hello, it's mistletoe! Don't tell me you've never heard of mistletoe either!" She stopped, taking in their blank expressions. "You seriously don't know?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Know what?"

The petit girl smacked her forehead. "If you're under a mistletoe, you're supposed to kiss! I thought everyone knew that."

Kaito looked up at the plants again. They looked ordinary enough. "Why? What do they do?"

Hakuba coughed. "They don't do anything. It's just a petty tradition that may have evolved from some kind of forgotten marriage ritual. It used to be that a kiss under the mistletoe between a couple was a promise to wed. Other superstitions I've heard revolved around luck in matters of love or having children. It is difficult to say exactly where it all came from, but these days it is merely a party tradition for certain people's amusement." He shot Sonoko a pointed look as he said that. "It doesn't mean anything."

Sonoko sniffed, her shoulders set in a stubborn line. "Whatever. It doesn't matter what it's for, you're standing under it so you have to kiss or I'm not letting you in!"

Neither the magician nor his oracle could say they really understood what was going on. What exactly was so entertaining about this party tradition? And why was Sonoko making such a big deal over it?

On the other hand, the petit girl really looked determined to stick to her word and not let them in unless they followed her instructions.

Shrugging, they turned to each other. It wasn't a particularly intimate kiss, but it wasn't a quick peck either. It was tender and affectionate and not at all the kind of thing you were supposed to see at casual parties with friends.

Sonoko actually blushed.

Then the two parted and stepped around her like nothing had happened, Kaito's arm still wrapped loosely around Shinichi's waist in the absentmindedly protective way Sonoko had long ago noticed infused many of the magician's actions in regards to his partner. The girl blinked. She'd expected, well, more of a reaction? These kinds of things were supposed to be fun and funny—admittedly, generally at someone's expense. It wasn't supposed to feel so… She shook her head. She'd read a lot of romantic novels and watched more than her fair share of movies, but she still couldn't find a comparison. They certainly weren't like any teenage couples she knew. They were too—too natural? Or was that too comfortable? That was stupid. It didn't make any sense. Still… Oh well. Her eyes turned to the two detectives as her expression grew wicked again.

"Well?"

They stared at her blankly, then at each other.

Hattori gagged and sputtered. "Hell no!"

"Agreed."

Spinning on his heels, Hattori started off around the house. "Come on Hakuba, let's knock on the windows. I'm sure someone'll let us in."


	6. Frosted Glass

The strained whimper was barely audible even in the silence of the darkened house, but it was still enough to cause indigo eyes to open. The warm body curled up against his side was shaking. Sitting up quickly, he laid a hand on the oracle's shoulder.

"Shinichi?"

The boy turned his head and for a moment Kaito thought it was all right and he'd woken up. But then he noticed that the tremors running through the other's slim frame were getting worse rather than subsiding. Suddenly, the oracle curled into himself, one hand clutching desperately at the front of Kaito's nightshirt. What bits of his face the magician could see were scrunched up as though in some terrible pain. His free hand clawed at his own throat and chest, catching on the fabric of his shirt and leaving white scratch marks on his skin.

Worry spiked in the magician's chest. Seizing Shinichi's wrist before he could actually hurt himself, Kaito quickly and firmly pried the oracle from his ball and used his own weight to force him to lie flat.

"Shinichi! Shin-chan, wake up!"

Blue eyes shot open, but they looked straight through him. That glazed, unfocused yet inexplicably intent look was all too familiar. It meant the oracle was trapped in a particularly strong vision and couldn't escape. That old fear that had almost dwindled to nothing over the weeks during which Shinichi's powers had appeared to be calming down came rushing back now with a vengeance. It was the fear that one day the visions would take the oracle away permanently to somewhere where Kaito couldn't reach him.

"Shinichi."

Under him, the oracle's entire body convulsed violently, forcing Kaito to tighten his grip in the fear that he might cause himself some injury. A gasp tore itself from Shinichi's throat, sounding like a drowning person who'd finally found air to breathe. Then he went abruptly limp. His eyes were squeezed shut again, but the rest of his face had smoothed out enough so that he no longer looked like he was in pain.

Kaito waited for a moment before calling softly, "Shin-chan?"

The oracle's eyes blinked open slowly. It took a second, but they eventually focused on the face of the magician hovering above him. "Kai…?"

"Are you all right?"

"I…yes, but…"

Kaito sat up and gathered his companion onto his lap. "What was it?"

"It was so cold," he whispered through shallow gasps. A tremor raced through his entire body. "It was cold and I was alone and I knew that—that it was the end. I was trapped and I couldn't breathe."

The magician's arms tightened around him as indigo eyes grew fierce. "You will never be alone."

"But it wasn't me," the oracle continued, making Kaito frown in confusion. "It was her."

"What are you talking about?"

"That—that vision." He was half tempted to call it a nightmare. But nightmares weren't supposed to be real. "I think…it was from that girl I saw, Kama Rei. I…think it was how she died."

Kaito stared at him, digesting the new information. He didn't bother asking if Shinichi was sure. The oracle didn't make claims lightly, especially when it came to his visions. Too much of their lives had revolved around them. It was the oracle's curse really, to know the power his own words could have. Having access to a kind of knowledge that some people would kill for led him to watch everything he said with the utmost care even when it was only Kaito listening because he, more than anyone, knew the dangers of actions taken on faulty or inaccurate information.

"Does it mean something?" Kaito asked finally.

"It always does," the oracle sighed, burying his face into the magician's chest. "That's the problem, isn't it?"

It was Kaito's turn to sigh, running his fingers absently through the other's soft, black locks. "It's okay if you need to think about it. Why don't you try to get some real sleep? We can talk in the morning."

X

Technically speaking, the sun should have risen, but the blizzard that had continued to howl through the night had yet to show any signs of calming, leaving the sun to be nothing more than a memory. All anyone could see through the windows was a solid, whirling mass of white. So they had turned on the lights and resigned themselves to another day indoors.

Kazuha had found a Monopoly set in one of the cupboards and she, Heiji, Ran, and Saguru were now gathered around it. As far as they knew, everyone else was still asleep, so they'd decided to pass the time with some nice, quiet board games.

"Hey, I was gonna buy that!"

"Yes, naturally, but since you haven't done so yet, it is still fair game."

"But I only needed that one to complete the set!"

The blonde looked smug. "Obviously. And your point is?"

"Now I can't!"

"It's called strategy. However, if you want the property so badly, I might be willing to trade it to you for the two railroads you purchased earlier."

"What? Hell no! Then you'd have all the railroads!"

"You prove my point. It's the pot and the kettle, Hattori. Don't point fingers when you're doing the same thing."

So much for a quiet game. Kazuha shook her head. Honestly. At this rate they were going to wake everyone.

"Can I have the dice now?" Ran asked, interrupting the brewing argument. The blonde passed her the little, dotted cubes and she shook them in her cupped hands before releasing them. They went bouncing over the game board in a flurry of light clacks. Then she picked up her small, silver thimble and moved it five spaces.

"Do you think that we should call the others?" Kazuha asked, casting a quick glance up at the clock on the wall. "It's already nine."

Ran shook her head. "Let's let them sleep. It's not like we can go anywhere with the weather like this."

"No kidding," Hattori sighed. "Man, I hope this storm blows over soon. It's gonna be a real drag if we're stuck in here for the rest of this trip!"

"It's not going to stop."

Four pairs of eyes turned at the new voice to see Shinichi standing in the doorway that led from the living room to the hall beyond. Kaito was standing right behind him, one hand on his shoulder as though to provide support. And indeed, the oracle's face was a little too pale to be normal.

Hakuba was the first to speak, brows furrowing in a faint frown. "What do you mean?"

"The storm," Shinichi elaborated, though his gaze was fixed on a point over their heads as though he was reading from an invisible script. "It's her work."

"Her?" the girls chorused in confusion.

"You mean that ghost girl?" Hattori guessed.

Shinichi nodded. He and Kaito moved to join the circle around the game board. By now though, no one was paying attention to the little silver pieces or the colorful stacks of game currency. "She brought this storm. I'm sure of it."

"Wait, wait. You saw a g—ghost?!" Ran half gasped half squeaked, her face draining abruptly of all color. Hakuba scooted discreetly closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "A—are you sure?"

Shinichi nodded again. "I think so. She spoke to me, so I don't think she was a vision."

"B—but how can you be sure? I—I mean, it could've just been a regular person, right?"

"We found her obituary in the papers," Kaito supplied. "And those two," he nodded to Hattori and Hakuba, "couldn't find any footprints where she'd walked on the snow."

Rubbing at his chin, Hattori scowled, shifting restlessly from one position to the next. "What I want to know is why a ghost would want to make it snow."

"Well, ghosts are supposed to be people who can't move on," Kazuha said, thinking out loud. "So that means she must have some kind of unfinished business or regret. If there was a crime involved, it would most likely be that she wants the truth to be known, but if there isn't… I'm not sure. Do you know how she died?"

The rest of the room's occupants turned to stare at her.

She blinked back. "What?"

"You're taking this rather well," Heiji noted.

She shrugged. "You're the ones who are always insisting things like ghosts don't exist. I'm more surprised that you two detective people aren't trying to explain it away as some kind of trick."

There was an awkward silence as she watched said detectives expectantly. Of everyone currently present, she was the only one who didn't know about Kaito and Shinichi's more unusual skills. They couldn't well tell her that they had both had their skepticism of the supernatural stampeded to death by all the things they'd seen the two do.

"That was part of the reason we were searching the local library the other day," Hakuba said finally. "Considering the evidence, we can only believe that the girl he saw really was the ghost of Kama Rei. She disappeared a year ago when she and some others decided to go playing in a blizzard. They never found her body."

Brown eyes lit up. "Then that must be it! I've also read that some ghosts can't go because they haven't been properly laid to rest."

"Er, no offense Kazuha, but stuff you get from stories aren't always good reference for real life."

"I know that!" the girl retorted. "I'm not stupid. But these sorts of things come up in almost every story that even mentions ghosts in cultures all over the world! That has to mean something. Like they say, where there's smoke, there's fire!"

"I think she might be right though," Shinichi murmured, eyes narrowed in thought. When I spoke with her, she was angry. She said she couldn't go home, but it looked…like she really wanted to. It was like she was trapped somehow. And the time before that. I saw her watching everyone inside the dining area like she wanted to come in but couldn't."

"You mean you've seen her more than once?" Ran gasped.

"In that case, it would stand to reason that we really will have to bring her back to appease her spirit."

Hattori shot his fellow detective a sidelong look before his breath left him in a huff. "I guess… But if that's true, doesn't that mean this storm's never going to stop? The mountains are huge! And she disappeared a whole year ago. How is anyone supposed to find her remains out there? Especially now with the snow heaping higher with every passing second."

"I can."

All eyes returned to Shinichi. The oracle had turned to the window and the whirl of white beyond. There was no uncertainty in his voice.

Kazuha glanced from one of her friends to the next in mild confusion. She felt like she was missing something here, but she had no idea what.

Beside her, Heiji let out a resigned sigh. "Man, we're going out there, aren't we?"

"Wait, what?" she gasped, rounding on him. "That's crazy!" In so many ways that she really didn't think she should have to spell it out for them. She was frowning at Heiji, but it was Shinichi who answered.

"It's the only way to stop the storm. I know it must sound strange to you, but we're the only ones who can do this. If we don't, this entire area and everyone who lives here is going to end up buried in snow."

"Us included," Kaito added. Standing up, he stretched then turned his usual, unreadable grin on the others. "We'll just be going then. Don't wait up. Hopefully, we'll be back before dinnertime."

"I will go get our coats," Hakuba volunteered.

"Don't bother. You guys aren't coming."

"Like hell we're not," Heiji objected, Despite their uncanny abilities, he was pretty sure that the rest of them knew a great deal more about hiking and the like than the magician and the oracle combined. There was also the possibility that they would have to do a lot of digging (he shuddered at the thought but pushed it away). He had the feeling that the two were going to be relying on the magician's powers to keep the storm at bay. While he couldn't claim to know anything about magic, the young detective was pretty sure that that kind of job would need a good deal of concentration. Having to split that concentration with digging through who knew how much snow and other stuff didn't sound like a smart idea no matter which way you looked at it.

"What he means is we can help," Hakuba put in.

"Yeah, what he said."

Ran was mildly amazed to hear the two actively agreeing with each other, but most of her was far more preoccupied with the idea that her friends were actually planning not only to venture out hiking in a raging snowstorm but to essentially go digging for a dead body. That purportedly belonged to a ghost (which she was trying not to think about). "Maybe we should think about this first, you guys," she said tentatively. "I mean, this doesn't really seem like the kind of thing you should just leap into…"

Kazuha snorted. "Yeah. You're gonna get yourselves killed. Honestly, what's wrong with you all? I thought we were just talking about this—you know, in a discussion sort of way. I didn't think you were being serious!"

Shinichi frowned. "This is serious. The life of this town is at stake. If—" He caught himself before he could say 'I had realized sooner', and instead filled in with, "if the snow wasn't already so heavy, we could just evacuate the town, but it's too late for that." His hands clenched briefly but he forced them to relax. That familiar, nagging sense of guilt was creeping in on the edges of his thoughts—why hadn't he realized it sooner?—but he knew it was a pointless train of thought. It always was.

A hand squeezed his shoulder and he looked around to see Kaito watching him with a quirk of the eyebrow that suggested he knew exactly what the oracle was thinking. Catching Shinichi's gaze, he shook his head. The oracle looked away for a moment before turning back with a wan smile. Raising a hand, he placed it over the one the magician had on his shoulder.

In the rest of the room, the argument was escalating.

"This is crazy!" Kazuha said again, throwing her hands up in the air. "What is wrong with all of you?!"

There was a beat of dead silence. Hattori had his hands held out in a helpless gesture as his face contorted with indecision. Hakuba was looking off at the wall, brows knit so tightly together that it looked like his face was never going to unravel. Ran, the only one of them who was still seated, was biting her lip, eyes darting from one of her friends to the next. It was Kaito who finally broke the stalemate.

"Kazuha, believe me when I say that we have our reasons for believing this is necessary. I'm sure that Ran can explain this to you, but Shinichi and I should leave now. It is already going to be a difficult trek. The longer we wait, the higher the snow, and the harder it's going to be to do what we have to do."

The girl stared hard at him for a long moment while the rest of the room's occupants held their collective breath. Finally, her shoulders sagged and she dropped onto the couch behind her. She wouldn't meet any of their eyes. Ran moved silently to sit beside her.

"Er, I'll…just go get those coats then," Heiji muttered, shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot. Then he bolted. Hakuba sighed, glancing back over at Ran. She mouthed a 'be careful' at him, her own face just a little bit pale. He nodded in return and followed Hattori out into the hall.

Kaito's eyes narrowed at the two's retreating backs, but Shinichi elbowed him.

"It's okay. We'll need their help."

The magician's breath left him in a puff before he shrugged. Stepping up beside Ran, he tapped her on the shoulder. She tore her gaze from Kazuha's bowed head and looked up at him in question.

"Tell her."

The brunette's eyes widened. "Are—are you sure?"

She received a sardonic smile in return. "We shall trust your judgment."

The girl nodded slowly. Her gaze drifted back to her distraught friend and a pensive expression settled across her face.

Shinichi gave Kaito a surprised look as the magician rejoined him at the doorway to the hall. Between the two of them, Kaito had always been much more insistent upon hanging on to secrecy. While they were both learning to let go of at least some of that paranoia, he had never expected it to be Kaito who first suggested letting another person in on their secret.

The magician laid an arm over his shoulders and steered him after the departed detectives. Leaning in to the oracle's ear, he murmured, "There are some things no one deserves."

He knew all too well what it was like to fear for the ones you loved. That sense as though the world was closing in—the anguish of not knowing if you could do anything or if anything you could do would even make a difference in the end. The what ifs and the should I haves… It was a pain all too familiar to them both.

Blue eyes softened in understanding. Shinichi offered the magician a reassuring smile, warmth swelling in his chest at the knowledge that Kaito was finally allowing himself to begin trusting their new friends.


	7. Deep Drifts

This, Heiji mused, must be what it felt like to be inside a snow globe. Or, well, the opposite of a snow globe maybe, since the snow was on the outside, but that wasn't really the point. It was just surreal. Here they were, four human beings, strolling through a howling blizzard like it was a sunny day. The snow-laden winds parted over and around them like water around a rock. It was incredible, but it was also a little frightening. Part of his mind couldn't help but scream that this wasn't right and that any moment now nature would remember that too and the snow would come crashing into their bubble of tranquility to pop it faster than you could say "I knew it!".

It was impossible to keep track of time in the storm. The detectives had brought their cell phones, but they had elected to turn them off until needed just in case. Not that they thought they would have any reception in the storm… Hakuba would have checked his pocket watch, but he'd accidentally left it in his other jacket.

Trees and rocky outcroppings broke through their whirling, blizzard walls every now and then only to vanish again like a figment of the imagination. The ground beneath their feet rose and fell at random, though Hattori had decided that the elevation changes most likely averaged out to a general uphill-ness.

Another rack of skeletal branches reached out of the whirling snow. This time it was a fallen tree. Its narrow trunk had actually snapped under the pressure of the storm, and its black, dried boughs lay broken and scattered about it. Shinichi came to a stop beside the mess and waved for the others to wait.

"We'll need these," he explained, bending over to begin gathering up dead branches. "Heiji, you have rope, right? We can tie them into bundles."

The detectives traded confused looks but didn't argue. They had just finished securing the fourth bundle of sticks when Kaito straightened abruptly.

"There's something coming."

"Er, when you say something," Heiji began, but he never got to finish.

With a snarl that made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end, a massive, white shape came barreling out of the wall of snow. It was wolfish in shape and the size of a horse, but every inch of it from snout to tail was composed of pure, white snow. Heiji's mouth remained hanging open in mid sentence as he stared at the beast. If it weren't for Hakuba grabbing his arm and yanking it so hard he almost dislocated it, the beast's icy maw would have been the last thing he ever saw.

Landing on the fallen tree trunk, the creature's claws sent splinters of frozen wood flying in all directions. It pivoted with an inorganic grace and lunged at Shinichi.

The oracle threw himself into the snow and the beast sailed clean over him and straight into a ball of orange flame. An explosion of steam blasted outward in a rapidly expanding cloud of white. The four humans gritted their teeth against the sudden, searing heat. Then the temperature plummeted once more, the contrast leaving them all feeling even colder than they had been before.

Spitting out a mouthful of snow, Heiji waved a hand wildly at the empty space where the creature had been. "What the hell was that?!"

"It looked to me like a warning." Kaito, the only one who'd stayed on his feet throughout the brief if shocking encounter, moved to help Shinichi to his feet. "They do say angry spirits have power."

"I believe the term is poltergeist," Hakuba muttered, pulling himself out of the snow. "Although I never thought it was anything more than superstition." He grimaced. He felt like his beliefs were being murdered one by one. It was small comfort that Heiji's expression made it clear he felt the same.

"We should get going before she sends more," Shinichi said, retrieving the bundle of sticks he'd dropped when the snow beast had appeared.

X

They were making their way between two high, rocky ridges when Shinichi suddenly froze in mid step. Then, without uttering a sound, he fell forward.

"Shinichi!" Alarmed, Kaito caught the oracle before he could end up face first in the snow.

"What happened?" Hakuba asked as he and Hattori hurried up beside the two. "Is he all right?"

Kaito lowered Shinichi to the ground carefully. "He's fine. It's another vision."

"Is it…always like that?" asked Heiji. It sure sounded inconvenient, however useful it could be.

"No, it isn't usually so sudden." Indigo eyes narrowed. He had never seen Shinichi just drop like that. Even now, his heart was racing, and he found himself checking the oracle's pulse again just to reassure himself.

Heiji coughed. "Er, so… What're we gonna do if he doesn't wake up soon?"

"I brought a compass," Hakuba offered, though he sounded uneasy.

His dark-skinned friend snorted. "That's great, but do you know which way we're supposed to go? I don't know about you, but I got totally turned around in all that snow."

"We're just going to have to wait."

Both detectives glanced at Kaito at his words. The magician had sat down and maneuvered the unconscious Shinichi so that the smaller teen was leaning against him. He had one arm wrapped securely around the oracle, leaving the other free just in case.

Not knowing what else to do, the teen detectives sat down as well, glad for the protection offered by their thick, water-resistant clothes.

"I know a few word games," Heiji offered once they'd all settled down. "They're good for passing time."

"All right then," Kaito agreed. He wasn't really in the mood for games, but anything to keep his thoughts occupied was welcome. After all, he'd already thought through the possibilities. Dwelling on them wouldn't change what they were.

Their only option—or rather their only viable option—was to wait.

He couldn't transport more than one person at a time. Not to mention the amount of energy he would need to use to teleport all the way back to the Suzukis' house would be enormous. He would have to rest quite some time between trips. That meant that everyone he didn't take with him on the first trip would likely freeze before he got back.

For the briefest of moments he had considered just taking Shinichi with him, but he'd dismissed the thought as soon as it surfaced. A long time ago, he would have done it without a second thought. For years, only two people had mattered to him. But now… Now, things had changed.

Listening with half an ear to Heiji's explanation of the rules of several word games they could choose from, he glanced down at the dark-haired head resting against his shoulder. Shinichi looked like he was simply sleeping. He could tell from long experience however that the oracle wasn't merely asleep.

It always made his stomach twist into knots when he couldn't wake Shinichi from one of his visions, but the oracle wasn't fighting this one. Wherever his mind had gone, it seemed he felt he needed to be there—to see whatever it was that only he could see. All Kaito could do was hold him close and wait. He just had to trust that the oracle would come back to them—to him—soon.

X

She sat on a frost-coated rock. Her white coat and scarf were pulled tight about her, making her blend into the snow that filled the world around her. Before her feet, a blue fire danced. The leaping tongues radiated a cold even deeper than that of the snow.

Unlike the previous times he had seen her, this time she didn't look angry or bitter. Instead, there was a lost expression on her face—lost and sad. "Why are you here?"

"To look for you," he replied honestly. "We want to help you go home."

"So the storm will stop, right? Well, too bad. I'm not stopping it. It's not fair that they can all be warm while I'm stuck out here in the cold."

"Is that really what you think is fair?" Shinichi asked quietly.

The girl shot him a derisive look. "Didn't I just say it was? Anyway, now we're even. They left me all alone out here to freeze. Now they get to find out how that feels. It's justice."

"Are you talking about your friends?"

"They're not my friends!"

"The people you came out with last year then."

"Yeah, that's them. What of it?"

"But they're not the only people living down there."

"I don't care. They didn't even bother to give me a grave."

"It was wrong of your—those people to hide it, but I'm sure none of them wanted what happened to you to happen."

"That doesn't change the fact that it did!"

"Nothing can change what has already happened…no matter how much we want to."

Kama laughed. The sound was harsh and brittle like cracked ice. "Everyone knows that. So what's your point?"

"What would it really change if your storm really does wipe out everyone in town?"

"I wouldn't be alone."

"Do you think so?" Looking down at the white, white snow around them, Shinichi pictured the town as it had been the last time he'd seen it. It had been full of life and cheer despite its small size and the wintry landscape all around it—an island of warmth in the winter's cold. For an instant, the snow before him seemed to shimmer and grow transparent, becoming a window looking down on the town in his memories. Then it was gone, swallowed whole by the merciless whiteness of the snow. "Maybe it's just me, but I think you'd be more alone than you are now."

She scowled and her eyes narrowed. "Why won't you just leave me alone?!"

"Because I know what it feels like to be trapped. I know what it's like not to be able to go home—to know that you don't even have a home to go back to." His gaze dropped once more to the snow. This time the image that surfaced amidst the glittering, white flakes was of a large, western-style house with two little boys running up to the front door. It melted into a room full of books. The door in the vision opened, but the whole thing faded away before he could see who was behind the door. He wasn't sure if it had gone because of its own accord or if he'd willed it away. "It's hard to walk forward though if you're always looking back."

"And what can I possibly have to walk forward to?"

"I don't know," he admitted then hurried on at the triumphant look that crossed her face. "But I do know it's not here."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Well, what would you like to be ahead?" he tried again. "If it was entirely up to you, what do you really want?"

The ghost seemed to give the question some serious thought. When she spoke, the bitterness had faded from her voice to be replaced by something wistful and rough with unshed tears. "I just…want to be warm again… I hate this snow. I hate the cold. I hate being here but I can't go!"

She stopped, shoulders heaving. Somewhere in the midst of her rant, she had risen to her feet. Now she dropped back onto her frosted seat and looked over her small, blue fire at Shinichi. The anger had gone. The bitterness had gone too. All that was left was an empty despair that was painful to see.

In that face he could see that day a year ago. It was the moment time had stopped for her. She had been stuck in that moment while the world moved on without her, her fate left to be forever a half confirmed mystery. And it occurred to him that perhaps what she really needed—wanted deep down behind the anguish and the hate—was some kind of closure. Some gesture of acknowledgment from the world that would allow her to let go of the ire holding her here.

"Miss Rei," he said carefully, not sure how she would take what he had to say but needing to say it anyway. "I…have an offer I would like you to consider."

"Well, no one's stopping you."

Ignoring her tone, he set about explaining what he had in mind.

X

"Ah damn, it's me again isn't it? C."

"Making hypochondriac. And that is twelve losses for me, eleven for Kuroba, and twenty one for you."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Heiji grumbled. "Why do I keep losing?"

"Because you are in too much of a rush to get us to finish the word. It's easy to predict which words you have in mind and therefore to plan ahead. Your main problem, however, is that it's too easy to tell when you believe everything is going your way. It's also why you never win when we play poker."

"Okay, okay, jeez. No one asked you."

"Yes you did. You said you wanted to know why you keep losing."

"That was just an expression. I didn't actually want an answer—and I definitely didn't want a detailed analysis of my game playin' shortcomings."

Kaito bit back a sigh. Usually it was amusing watching the two bicker, but this was the third rendition of this same debate and it was getting tiresome. He was seriously considering letting a bit of snow into their bubble of stillness to shock the two when he felt Shinichi stir. Forgetting about the detectives, he turned his full attention to the oracle.

"Shin-chan?"

Shinichi mumbled something incoherent before sitting up, blinking at his surroundings as though wondering where he was. Kaito waited for him to collect himself, knowing it often took time for Shinichi to reorient himself to reality.

"Oh hey," Heiji said, breaking off from his verbal jousting when he spotted Shinichi sitting upright. "You're up! We were starting to get worried."

Hakuba nodded. "It was a little shocking when you simply collapsed. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Shinichi assured them, touched by their concern. "How long has it been?"

"It's been at least half an hour," Kaito replied. "Maybe more. What did you see?"

"I talked to her."

Heiji and Hakuba traded uneasy looks. "Er, when you say her, do ya mean that ghost?"

Shinichi nodded. "We made a deal."

Indigo eyes narrowed. "What kind of deal?"

"I promised that we would take her scarf back to town and have it mailed to her family. She also wants a proper grave maker at the place where she died. But she doesn't want to be buried. She wants to be cremated."

Hakuba cleared his throat. "I would like to point out that all of these demands require us to actually have Miss Rei's remains."

"We're sitting on them."

Heiji jerked and nearly toppled out of their bubble of calm. Hakuba too started violently, though he managed to squash the urge to leap up and sideways. Kaito simply looked down at the packed, white snow beneath them.

"I guess we'd better start digging then."

Despite the freezing temperatures and the continued howling of the blizzard, the teens were sweating by the time they found what they were looking for. And they would never have found it at all without Shinichi's directions and a little magical help from Kaito. It wasn't a pretty sight. Corpses never were. Old ones even less so. The cold had slowed the decomposition, but a year was still a year. Shinichi tried not to look too closely at what was left of the girl's face as he removed her scarf. The article in question wasn't exactly in good condition, but it was still intact, and they could see the girl's initials in the corner.

After seeing her so clearly as she must have looked in life, it felt…wrong somehow to see the haggard ragdoll of a person her physical self had become.

Climbing back out of the rather deep hole, he waved for the two detectives to pile the sticks of wood they had brought around the body.

"Kai?"

The magician nodded.

No one but the four of them ever saw the fire on the mountainside, but for them it was a moment none of them would ever forget. It wasn't particularly spectacular or strange compared to the many bizarre things they had all seen through the courses of their lives. And yet the world seemed to hold its breath while the flames danced. The roar of the storm faded into the background until the only sound that could be heard was the crackle of the flames themselves. The snowy walls of the hole glistened with water drops that wouldn't fall.

Then the flames flickered and died and the snowy banks around the pit crumbled and sloughed inward. Steam hissed. In moments, all that was left was a watery dip in the snow glittering white under the sun.

It was only then that they realized the storm too had quieted.

Heiji blinked then scratched at the back of his head. "That…felt really weird."


	8. Soft Snow

They had left her name carved in the stone of the ridge above the place where they had found her.

The hike back to the house was a quiet one. Shinichi had wanted to go straight into town to talk to the post office, but the others insisted they wait until the morrow as the sky had already darkened into shades of evening gray.

They were welcomed back by a relieved Ran and Kazuha. The questions in their eyes were clear, but with Sonoko and Makoto around they decided to keep quiet. For now anyway.

"I can't believe you guys actually went out in that weather!" Sonoko said, eyeing them like she thought they'd all gone mad. "You're lucky you didn't just freeze out there!"

"You have no idea," Hattori muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The petit girl sniffed and shook her head. "Well, since you did get back after all, we just made pasta. You might as well have some." She pivoted on her heels and started for the kitchen. "We're watching a movie while we eat."

Heiji and Hakuba followed her towards the kitchen, but the other two declined the offer, opting instead to return to their room.

Sonoko watched them go with raised eyebrows. "What's up with them?"

"They are probably tired," the blond detective replied, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders and gently propelling her through the kitchen door. "So tell me, what movie will we be watching?"

X

"Are you sure you don't want to eat something?" Kaito asked, shutting the door to their room.

Shinichi moved to place the neatly folded scarf they had brought back from their venture on the room's small desk. "I don't think I can eat just yet. But what about you?" Concerned blue eyes turned to examine the magician. "Aren't you hungry?"

"More tired than hungry," Kaito admitted with a shrug. "Though I could do with a drink."

"You need to rest then," Shinichi said, voice soft but insistent. "I know keeping that storm off us for so long must have been tiring. Just lie down and I'll go get you a cup of water."

A calloused hand caught Shinichi's wrist before he could reach the door however. It pulled him back with a jerk and suddenly he was pressed flush against the magician's chest with said magician's arms wrapped around him in a fierce embrace.

"That can wait," he murmured, his words warm breaths in Shinichi's ear. "You're just as tired as I am."

Sighing, Shinichi relaxed into the hug, burying his face in the magician's chest. He couldn't deny that he was tired. The cold of that storm still seemed to be clinging to his skin. It was more than just a physical chill. He could still feel the ghost's lonely anguish. In her pain he had seen an echo of their own, and the whole way back he'd been unable to think of anything else.

Kaito picked the oracle up and deposited him gently on one of the room's two beds. Then he moved to check that the door and windows were locked before joining Shinichi under the covers. Shinichi immediately curled up against him, tucking his head under Kaito's chin as the magician pulled him closer.

X

"Did you guys really see a…a…you know." Ran waved a hand in a somewhat vague gesture.

The kitchen was quiet for several moments as she and Kazuha waited expectantly for their two detective friends to answer. Neither of the boys looked eager to discuss the issue. In the end, it was Heiji who answered.

"We didn't see it exactly. Only Shinichi ever did, I think."

"But then was it real?" asked Kazuha.

"Yes," both detectives said without hesitation. The absolute certainty in their faces made Kazuha uncomfortable, although she couldn't say why. Maybe it was just that she was still trying to wrap her mind around it all. It would have been nice if her friends would show at least a little of the same confusion and uncertainty she was feeling. It would make her feel less like the odd one out. Although she supposed there were good things about their belief too. It made it easier for her to just accept it all and move on. Even so, it would be a while before she could look at the world the same way again. If she ever did.

X

"Well, the scarf has been sent," Hakuba said as he, Heiji, Shinichi, and Kaito stepped out of the post office. As the detectives had guessed, the place had had the ghost's family's new address on file just in case they needed to forward their post. "So what now?"

"Now we put this whole weird business behind us," Heiji replied, glancing at Shinichi for confirmation.

The oracle nodded, expression solemn. "All we can do now is wait and hope the storm doesn't start up again. If it remains clear then it should mean that she's moved on. Or at least that she's not as angry anymore." He hoped it was the former. No one deserved to be trapped like that, tied down by rage and despair…

His gaze swept over the snow-covered streets around them. The houses with their sparkling, white roofs and awnings decorated with crystalline icicles were a beautiful sight. The heavy snow from the day before had had to be shoveled and pushed to the sides of the roads to form high banks, but it seemed the people of the town were well used to dealing with such things. For them, the storm had been nothing more or less than a spot of bad weather.

It was Kaito who broke the silence. "We better get moving if we don't want to be late meeting up with the others."

The activity of the day was ice skating—or so Sonoko had declared that morning. She had visited the local rink before and given it a thumbs up. Afterward, they would head out to lunch before returning to the house to play the white elephant game.

They arrived at the skating rink to find the others already waiting for them. They turned their shoes into the equipment rental counter and received skates in return. Kaito and Shinichi both stared dubiously at the shoes they had been presented with. The things were thick and heavy, with long, ropy laces. The part that drew their eyes though was the blades. Each boot had a thin, metal blade attached to its bottom.

"You want us to walk on these?" Kaito asked, taking a boot and running his finger along said blade. Unstable was the word that came to mind. It was followed shortly by Dangerous.

Kazuha laughed. "Not walk, skate. Here, I'll show you."

Lacing up her own skates, the girl made her way to the edge of the rink. As the others lined up at the rails to watch, she launched herself onto the ice.

"Kazuha's really good at this," Heiji informed them, his own gaze following her movements as a warm smile that was a mixture of pride, admiration, and affection made its way onto his face. Kazuha almost seemed to be flying as she spun and danced across the frosted white landscape. Her ponytail streamed through the air behind her.

"Come on," she said as she glided back to where her friends were gathered. "Don't just stand around. We're here to have fun!" Her gaze shifted to the magician and the oracle. "Would you two like me to teach you?"

The two traded glances before agreeing, albeit a touch uncertainly. So as the rest of their party moved out onto the ice, the magician and the oracle found themselves taking their first ever skating lesson.

Holding onto the rails at the side of the rink, they watched closely as Kazuha demonstrated the basic motion of turning and pushing with the skates in order to move forward. When she was done, she took up position a short distance from their spot at the rails and waved for them to skate towards her.

"Just take it slowly," she instructed. "Don't rush and you'll be fine."

Shinichi took a deep breath, braced himself, and carefully pushed away from the wall. It felt incredibly weird to have the ground slipping past beneath him even while he wasn't actually doing anything. The tiny amount of momentum from his initial launch faded quickly however, leaving him standing motionless only a few steps from the rails. Okay, so now what had Kazuha done with her feet again? She'd turned the blade towards the side like this then pushed. He could feel the steel catching the ice, giving him the leverage he needed to propel himself forward again. He smiled to himself. Now for the other foot. Behind him, Kaito started his own expedition across the ice.

Shinichi was just starting to feel more comfortable with the motions when his left skate caught in a hole someone had gouged in the ice and he wobbled. Kaito moved reflexively to steady him, but the sudden motion caused his own skates to slip out from under him. He flailed in an attempt to recapture his balance as though it were a fleeing animal. In the process, his right skate struck Shinichi's, knocking the oracle's feet out from under him completely. They both fell in a heap of waving limbs.

Kazuha smiled a little sheepishly, one hand rising to the back of her neck. "Er, I guess maybe we should start with how to get up when you fall…"

X

The rest of the day passed in a whirl of warm lights and laughter. As the moon rose to grace the night with its soft, silver light, it found the residents of the Suzuki vacation house settling down in their respective rooms, their weary but contented minds more than ready for the soothing arms of sleep.

"It seems a shame we have to head home the day after tomorrow," Kaito observed, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing their neighbors.

"I don't know. I'm kind of looking forward to being home again." Shinichi set the large, stuffed white elephant he'd been carrying down on the unused bed (Hakuba had scoffed at Hattori for bringing such an unimaginative gift, but most of the others thought it was funny. It was also very furry and soft, and no one could say it wasn't cute. Shinichi felt it was quite the suitable souvenir to remind them of this first Christmas in the future).

"I suppose the whole ghost business was a bit of a downer."

"It's not that." Blue eyes turned to the window as the oracle patted the elephant absently on the head. "It's just… I mean, this place is beautiful and I really am glad we came, but home is…well, home. I'm sorry, I guess that doesn't make much sense."

Kaito chuckled, moving to wrap his arms around the oracle from behind. "No, I understand what you mean. There's just nowhere like home."

"Mmmm hmmm."

"We should turn in. I believe I overheard Ran mentioning going back to the slopes again tomorrow. We'll want to get up early to make the most of it."

"Wait. There's something I need to give you." Pulling out of Kaito's grasp, Shinichi knelt and pulled their empty suitcase out from under the bed. He pulled out a bag with the craft store logo stamped across it. Kaito could see from the shape that the bag had been used to wrap something flat and square in shape. He cocked a curious eyebrow. He hadn't seen that package before. It had to be the reason for that day Shinichi had insisted on going to the shops without him.

Not quite meeting Kaito's gaze, Shinichi handed him the parcel. The magician unfolded the bag with care and pulled out the object inside. He found himself looking at the back of a simple, wood picture frame. His other eyebrow rose to join the first and he turned it over.

It was a color pencil drawing. Remarkably detailed, it depicted a snowy dragon with two little children seated on its back. The children, Kaito realized, were himself and Shinichi. An old memory bubbled up in his mind, worn thin by time but still touched by the glitter of old joys. Now that he knew what he was looking at, he found he recognized the dragon too. It looked exactly like the one he'd made all those years ago.

"Shin-chan," he murmured, looking up from the drawing. Now he knew why Shinichi had been ducking into their room every time an opportunity presented itself. "This…"

"I know we're supposed to be moving forward," the oracle said, fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves as he gazed at a point somewhere to Kaito's right. "But, well, I…I want to remember the good times too." His expression settled into a determined one. "I want to be able to look back and not just feel like it was all only a terrible loss…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

Kaito took another long look at the drawing, a warm if wistful smile creeping onto his face. Then he set it on the desk and pulled Shinichi into a tight embrace. "I know."

Shinichi relaxed, his eyes sliding shut. "Do you think they're happy?"

Indigo eyes rose to the star-spangled sky beyond their window. A hand rubbed soothing circles on the oracle's back. Phantom faces seemed to dance across that sky, though Kaito knew they were only in his own mind. He could see a woman with Shinichi's smile and a man with his clear, blue eyes. He could see another man as well, this one with his own wild hair and angular features.

"I'm sure they are."

Shinichi's breath left him in an almost inaudible sigh. A sudden wave of weariness washed over him, and he found himself leaning more heavily against Kaito's chest.

"Shin-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there anything you want to do before we have to go home? Since tomorrow's our last day here. We'll be skiing in the morning, but that still leaves the afternoon."

Shinichi thought about the question for a long moment before he answered, voice quiet, almost embarrassed. "Make snowmen?"

He felt more than heard Kaito laugh. "Sounds interesting."

Both their eyes fell upon the drawing in its wooden frame—a window into the past when the future had been bright. But perhaps it could be more.

X

"Snowmen," Sonoko repeated. "You're kidding me right? How old are we, seven?"

"Ah, but it's a form of art," Kaito pointed out, wagging a finger under her nose. "And art is ageless. Besides, I only said Shinichi and I would be staying out here because we wanted to make snowmen. I didn't say you had to join us."

"I actually think making snowmen sounds like a great idea," Kazuha piped up. "Something relaxing to end our trip with."

"We can have a contest," Heiji added, a grin beginning to spread across his face. "First place gets ta decide what we're having for dinner!"

"Then I suppose the rest of us had better make sure you don't win," Hakuba mused.

The dark-skinned teen's jaw dropped and he rounded on the blonde in indignation. "Are you sayin' I have bad taste?"

"Don't think I didn't notice you drooling over that hamburger place in town. That is not the kind of food I intend to subject myself to on the last day of my vacation."

Ran stepped hurriedly between the two. "Now, now, let's not start an argument over this all right? Prizes aside, I think a snowman contest sounds like a great idea."

With everyone including a grudging Sonoko in agreement, the rest of their last day at the Suzuki vacation home was spent populating the snowy slopes around the house with snowmen of all shapes and sizes. There were fluffy little snow rabbits and traditional, triple-sphere snowmen with twiggy arms and carrot noses. There were large, snow dogs by a makeshift sleigh and snow monsters born from failed attempts at better things. There was even a snow castle complete with seven towers and a waterless mote.

And in the middle of it all stood a dragon with snow white scales, its head tilted back as though to look into the distant reaches of the sky.

Two young men stood before it as the sun dipped towards the horizon, looking up at its proud and noble face. There was a defiance in its skyward gaze, they thought, like the creature was poised to leap up and hurl itself into the heavens. "I am here," it seemed to say. "And though my snow may melt and wash away, let it be known that I am here to stay."

"It's just as good as the last one," Shinichi said, looking up into the face of his taller companion—seeing the distant look in his eyes.

Kaito glanced at him then back at the great, white creature they had shaped from the snow. A wry smile made its way onto his face and he let out a short but hearty laugh. "I don't think so." Catching Shinichi's hand in his, he gave it a squeeze. "Personally, I think this one's better."


End file.
